Celebrity chef Paula Deen focused less on her famous butter-filled recipes and more on how to get protein in the hands of Hurricane Sandy victims last week.

On a cold loading dock in the Long Island City’s branch of City Harvest, Deen threw hams and other protein-rich items into a donation basket.

Deen teamed up with Smithfield and the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) to donate 25,000 pounds of protein to City Harvest to further the Feed the Hungry initiative that the group has taken on in 2009.

“The significant donation in New York is part of Smithfield’s and the UFCW’s Feed the Hungry tour, a cost-to-cost effort to help families and individuals become more food secure, in which two originations donate and deliver much-needed protein to food assistance organizations across the country,” read a statement issued by Smithfield.

The food this time will go to those who have been devastated by the hurricane.

After discussing the needs throughout the community the group agreed that the needs of those who had been affected by the hurricane were of the highest property.

“We can temporarily take care of hunger, but inevitably a few hours later it returns,” Deen said. “It is a non-stop job that we have to do.”

While the Feeding the Hungry initiative is a nation wide project, due to the severity of the hurricane, the focus has shifted to the hurricane-destroyed areas.

Deen said she toured some of the devastated areas affected by the hurricane, and said she views the volunteers as heroes. She said she was able to see the “goodness that is in American people.”